Crock-Pot Bolognese Sauce

The other day I've found paleo spaghettis in a specialty store down the street from where I live.
8 bucks a pack - a tad pricey - but I was so excited about it, I said to myself “What the hell, let’s go for it!”
I decided that my uber-expensive spaghettis deserved a 5-star sauce to go with, so...Bolognese sauce.
You guys know that this traditional Italian meat sauce is called Bolognese because it originates from Bologna in Italy? Ok, probably you do.
But, do you know that there’s only one original recipe for Bolognese sauce, deposited with the Chamber of Commerce in Bologna?
I didn’t know that either, but my friend Francesca told me all about it.
Apparently, in 1982, the Italian Academy of Cuisine recorded and deposited a recipe for "Classic Bolognese Ragu" with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce.
I visited the Italian Academy of Cuisine website and I found the recipe (actually I found two, but whatever).
With the help of Google Translate - which wasn’t at peak performance with this one - I managed to get the one and only original recipe for Bolognese sauce. YAY!
I’ve made this recipe for quite some time already and it’s a total winner. Everybody seems to love it (except for my vegetarian + vegan friends — sorry guys). It's full of depth and so delicious.
I recently adapted it for the Crock-Pot and came out perfectly, with minimal effort. A big high-five to technology!

1-Minute Paleo Choc Chip Cookie (In A Mug)

Another Sunday means another late NY Giants collapse and another defeat. We are now 0-5.
Yup, apparently it’s that kind of year.
I’m not even talking about making it to the play-offs; after losing to the Carolina Panthers 38-0 in the third game, I’ve pretty much given up that hope.
What I’m talking about is stop watching the NFL altogether this season.
I mean, when your team is breaking records for being the worst team on the league (such as giving up 182 points, the most allowed by a team in five games since 1961) you’re disappointed, discouraged, even outraged.
You can’t fathom how a team who hoisted the Lombardi trophy just two years ago is now the laughing stock of the NFL. But there you have it. NY Giants are 0-5.
On top of that there’s no more Breaking Bad...arghhh...my Sunday nights just went from bad to worst.
Last night I was so bummed I decided I deserved a treat, something I could whip up in a heartbeat (and possibly paleo-friendly).
That’s how I came up with this 1-Minute Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie (in a mug).

Spinach Omelette and Whipped Ricotta Cake

My 8-year old nephew Matt was visiting yesterday afternoon. He’s an amazing kid-foodie, meaning that he likes to eat good food, well, he actually demands to eat good food.
I can’t think of something he doesn’t eat. He tries even the most bizarre foods you put in front of him— jelly fish, liver, stinky cheeses, etc.
He tastes everything, and never says no or make a disgusted face. If he doesn’t like something, he just says it's not for him, which I think it's awesome.
Yesterday, out of nowhere, he asked if I could make spinach and cheese ravioli for dinner.
No, not the frozen or canned ravioli, he wanted me to make fresh ravioli from scratch (which is something we had already done together before).
As I wasn’t really in the mood to make fresh pasta, I asked him “What about making a spinach and ricotta cake instead? Something super good that will taste even better than ravioli?”
“Cool” he answered.
So we literally invented this spinach omelette layered cake. True story.

Ginger and Turmeric Carrot Soup

Folks there’s nasty cold that’s going around. I haven’t caught it yet but everyone else around me has.
I'm not very prone to sickness, I guess that eating healthy and exercising helps keep my body in good working order and makes it easier to fight diseases.
However, when everybody around me seems to be hoarding tissues like they’re going out of style, I start to worry.
Getting a cold is not the end of the world, I’ll admit it, but it’s a pain in the neck nonetheless. Stuffy and runny noses, sniffing all day or feeling groggy...who doesn’t enjoy that????
Then there’s the part where you have to skip training and I REALLY don’t like that, at all.

(Paleo) Flourless Chocolate Cake

OK guys, I think I just found my new fave sweetener: raw coconut palm sugar.
We all know that white sugar is empty calories with no nutritional value whatsoever; meaning it doesn't have vitamins and/or nutrients, just calories.
So what about replacing it with a nutrient-rich, low-glycemic crystalline sweetener that looks, tastes, and melts almost exactly like sugar, but it’s completely natural and unrefined?
Yep, that’s raw coconut palm sugar.
Raw coconut palm sugar is acquired from the flowers growing on coconut trees. The nectar of the flowers is collected and air-dried to form a crystalline sugar, dark brown in color.
It’s rich in potassium, zinc, iron and B vitamins. There’s quite a lot to it!

Eat When You're Supposed To (and Snack Very Little!)

Today, we eat all the time, munching on snacks, convenience foods, or sipping lattes, sodas or smoothies at every hour of the day.
It’s a fact. Just take a look around yourself.
We eat while driving or riding in a car or walking or at our desks or while watching TV. We are snacking more and eating fewer meals.
We do so little eating at the table that sociologists and market researchers - who study American eating habits - report that we have added to the traditional big three meals (i.e., breakfast, lunch and dinner) a fourth one that lasts all day long: the constant snacking meal.
Snacks are less and less the hunger-soothing bridge between formal meals. They have become a meal in their own right.
As a result, we eat much more food than we need and we're gaining weight at an alarming rate.
We’re a nation of overweight and obese people, because we eat too often, not only too much.
The solution? Going back to our roots — eating only at designated meal times and limit snacking.
It’s OK to feel hungry between meals. However, being hungry doesn’t mean you have to eat.
If it isn’t breakfast, lunch or dinner, always ask yourself: “Am I really hungry?”
Maybe you’re just bored, tired, distracted, sad, or happy. Try to understand what you’re really feeling before you grab something to eat.

Cheesy Chia Seed Crackers (Gluten-Free & Low Carb)

I love crackers, and I love even more making crackers at home. It’s incredible how much better they taste than store-bought.
Whenever my niece is visiting, we usually make whole wheat cheese crackers together. Just like Cheez-It, just better.
She always has a blast doing it. I recently bought a set of animal farm tiny cookie cutters and she cuts the cracker’s dough into cows, pigs, sheeps, etc. Then she places them on the baking sheet in a very specific order, sheeps close together, hens with cows, etc. You know, kids’ fantasy.
When we’re done, I give her the whole batch to take home, so that she can bring them to school for her lunch and MOST OF ALL parading with her friends.

How To Make Super-Nutritious Germinated Brown Rice

Today we’re talking about my beloved brown rice.
As an athlete, I consume a ridiculous amount of brown rice; it’s an important source of proteins, complex carbs, precious fiber and many important nutrients and minerals.
Brown rice is awesome and you’re getting nothing but goodness in every spoonful.
I was contented with my brown rice, until one day my colleague Sohyoung told me that you can even get more out of it.
She said that if you soak brown rice at room temperature overnight, the rice will germinate and get even more awesome.
Really?
I wasn't convinced, so I looked into that and found out that Sohyoung was right all along.
Sprouted (or germinated) brown rice is the way go!

Caramelized Cauliflower and Mushroom Casserole

So apparently today it’s the third day of Autumn. Yeah, I didn’t saw that coming either. Mostly because it doesn’t feel like Fall yet; at least in my hood.
With the turn of the season, there are a number of things that change, not only the weather.
Fall crops come into their own just as summer delicious fruits and veggies are packing it in (sigh!)
But there is no room for despair people. Spices, roots like turnips and carrots, cabbages, and of course pumpkins, apples, and mushrooms will helps us coping with the end of summer's sweet corn and sun-warmed peaches.
When temperatures dip and the leaves drop, it’s time to fire up the oven. And that’s when this casserole comes into play.
You see, I am a HUGE fan of mushrooms and an even bigger fan of cauliflower (you probably already know this, don’t you?); so combining the two to make a delicious dish has to be my ultimate food fetish (not foot, FOOD!)

Chia Chocolate Mousse

When you think chocolate mousse, you think of copious amounts of chocolate, sugar, eggs and butter whipped together to create a luscious, fluffy and airy dessert.
My mum used to make Julia Child’s Mousse au Chocolat when we had guests over. She would serve it topped with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and some orange confit.
It was so good, she would win raves. I remember it got to a point where people would actually ask her (more like beg her) to make it when she invited them over for dinner.
I loved her mousse au chocolat, and I still do. To me, mum's mousse au chocolat means home, family and friends.
It’s a special dish, but let’s be honest, it’s a calorie bomb. There’s point no denying that.
Sugar and butter and eggs and chocolate, all natural ingredients, yes, but a lot of them, too much of them.
Once in awhile it’s OK to have it - on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas; but that’s about it.
So what about the rest of the year? 363 days without mousse au chocolat? How sad...
That’s when this chia chocolate mousse comes into play. This is a great little recipe that has become a chocolate fix favorite in my apt.